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Banter, chit-chat, gossip, natter, tete-a-tete: these are just a few of the terms for the varied ways in which we interact with one another through conversation. David Crystal explores the factors that motivate so many different kinds of talk and reveals the rules we use unconsciously, even in the most routine exchanges of everyday conversation.

In Plato and the Tyrant, acclaimed historian and classicist James Romm draws on personal letters of Plato to show how a philosopher helped topple the leading Greek power of the era: the opulent city of Syracuse. There, Plato encountered two authoritarian rulers, a father and son both named Dionysius, and tried to steer them toward philosophy. At the same time, he worked on his masterpiece, Republic, in which he conceived a ruler who unites perfect wisdom with absolute power.

Napoleon Bonaparte's rise from common origins to the pinnacle of power, as well as his defeat at Waterloo, still influences our daily lives, from the map of Europe to the metric system. Here's the fascinating story of the great soldier-statesman.

Once upon a time, there was a king who passed. He left behind two sons, one beloved and one outcast. The older of the two was set to take the throne, but before he could, he had to find a queen to call his own. The younger one was known to be unruly and unhinged. The chosen queen was warned to keep far away from him. Beautiful and cunning, in the light is where she stayed. But late at night, it was the shadowed lands in which she played. Mistakes were made and secrets forged; forgetting duty and her sense. And while the new king had her hand, her heart belonged to the scarred prince.

I didn't mean to give my hot neighbor a full peep show when my puppy locks me outside in nothing but a towel. Yet Austen Knight pretends he didn't see everything and offers me an interior design job—help him renovate the farmhouse I've adored since I was a kid. I'm a single mom trying to run a business in a small town. I can't be alone with Austen day in and day out without igniting rumors that could hurt the career I've worked so hard for. But I need the money, and he's leaving after the house is done and goes on the market.

My aunt is determined to see to the terms of the inheritance. If I don't get married, I'll have to find somewhere I can afford with two kids and a lot of debt—and do it without losing my brand new job. When she confronts me on the moveout deadline, I try to buy time. I blurt out a name. I tell her I'm engaged to Eliot Knight. Eliot's my boss's brother, and he's been around the vet clinic where I work. He's hot. He's charming. He's who I'd pick if I had to marry someone at a moment's notice. But he wasn't supposed to hear me. He wasn't supposed to get dragged into my mess.

Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated.

Sound Pictures traces the story of the Beatles' breathtaking artistic trajectory after reaching the creative heights of Rubber Soul. As the bandmates engage in brash experimentation both inside and outside the studio, Martin toils along with manager Brian Epstein to consolidate the Beatles' fame in the face of growing sociocultural pressures, including the crisis associated with the "Beatles are more popular than Jesus" scandal. Meanwhile, he also struggles to make his way as an independent producer in the highly competitive world of mid-1960s rock 'n' roll. 

In 1940, with the Nazis sweeping through France, Henri Matisse found himself at a personal and artistic crossroads. His marriage had ended, he was gravely ill, and after decades at the forefront of modern art, he was beset by doubt. As scores of famous figures escaped the country, Matisse took refuge in Nice, with his companion, Lydia. By defiantly remaining, Matisse was a source of inspiration for his nation.

In Collisions, Michael Kimmage, a historian and former State Department official who focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, offers a wide-angle, historically informed account of the origins of the current Russia-Ukraine war.

Stolen from her bed in the dark of night to save a dying chieftain, Brenna Grant never imagined that act of healing would change the course of her life—and the fate of an entire clan. A healer ahead of her time, Brenna rejected the brutal practices of medieval medicine, trusting instead in the wisdom passed down from her mother and grandfather. But it was her fierce, compassionate heart that truly set her apart—winning the devotion of the man she healed, the warrior who kidnapped her, and the sprawling family she built through birth, marriage, and love.

Thane MacQuarie, chieftain of Clan MacQuarie, has his sights set on taking over Duart Castle and exacting vengeance on the mother who abandoned him. But when he witnesses a cruel man leave his wife, Tamsin Garvie, to drown on a rock in the sea, Thane can’t ignore the plight of the red-haired beauty. Left to die by her brutal husband, Tamsin prays for rescue, knowing she must survive to save her young daughter from the monster she married. Thane delivers her from the icy grip of Loch Tuath, but Tamsin’s injuries require more aid than he can provide.

To Charles Fort, with Love is award-winning fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan’s third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe. A deceptively even dozen, this collection includes Kiernan’s celebrated stories “Onion” and “Andromeda Among the Stones”, as well as a number of more obscure pieces.

Immediately after the Second World War, the victorious Allies authorized the forced relocation of ethnic Germans from their homes across central and southern Europe to Germany. The numbers were almost unimaginable: between twelve and fourteen million civilians, most of them women and children. And the losses were horrifying: at least five hundred thousand people, and perhaps many more, died while detained in former concentration camps, locked in trains, or after arriving in Germany malnourished, and homeless.

In April 1938, a man calling himself Josef Hofmann arrives at a boarding house in Hamm, Germany, and lets a room from the widow who owns it. Fifty years later, Walter Gersdorff, the widow's son, who was 11 years old in the spring of 1938, discovers the carefully hidden diary the boarder had kept during his stay, even though he should never have written any of its contents down. What Walter finds is a scathing chronicle of one the most tumultuous years in German history, narrated by a secret agent on a deadly mission.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan has captivated millions around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. In this series companion book, the listener will learn about the exotic beasts used by the Seanchan and hear of the rise and fall of Artur Hawking, and peruse the deeper story of the War of the Shadow. Here is the tale of the founding of the White Tower, and the creation of the Ajahs. The inner workings of the closed country, Shara, are revealed, as is the existence of a hitherto unknown continent, The Land of the Madmen.

Callum Sinclair, the heir to Clan Sinclair, knows that he will one day have to marry to carry on his clan's legacy. He just did not know that his bride-to-be would arrive less than a week after his father announced the betrothal. When Siùsan arrives, Callum is unprepared for the gift his father has given him in his soon-to-be wife. Callum is eager to get to know his fiery-haired bride who barely comes up to his chest, and Siùsan is tempted by Callum's whisky brown eyes and gentle nature.

John Lennon 1980 traces the powerful, life-affirming story of the former Beatle’s remarkable comeback after five years of self-imposed retirement. Lennon’s final pivotal year would climax in several moments of creative triumph as he rediscovered his artistic self in dramatic fashion. With the bravura release of the Double Fantasy album with wife, Yoko Ono, he was poised and ready for an even brighter future only to be wrenched from the world by an assassin’s bullets.

Alexander Grant had already built a legendary clan, won the favor of kings, and raised warriors who shook the Highlands. But his greatest challenges—and deepest joys—came in his later years. As Scotland's fight for independence raged, Alex stood beside Robert the Bruce, guiding his grandbairns through battle after battle. He watched a new generation of Grants rise: fierce, loyal, and every bit as formidable as the warriors he'd trained decades before.

Alyssa MacInnes doesn’t bow, doesn’t beg, and certainly doesn’t break. Taking her cousin’s place at the altar was the boldest move of her life—and the most dangerous—but she’d sooner meet a blade than bow her head. Laird Tryss MacCraith needs a wife, not a wildcat with secrets in her eyes. Yet every time Alyssa meets his fury with fire, something inside him tightens—something that has nothing to do with duty and everything to do with desire.